S eptember 28, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver P age A 2 he African-Am erican family in the United States loses a child every four hours to a bullet. Many more are injured or trau­ matized by needless exposure to vio­ lence and homicide A young person under age eighteen is twice as likely as an adult to be victimized by the complex cycle o f violence today. In this sense, we have, as a community, abandoned our youth. We have left them in harms way We must Re­ claim Our Youth, reaffirm their value to us, and reconnect ourselves to them in meaningful ways. It is up to us to move our children out o f harm ’s way. In the words of Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, founder o f the Rainbow National Reclaim Our Youth Cru­ sade, "To choose to reclaim our youth is to choose to redeem the soul of America.” The mission of the Rainbow National Reclaim Our Youth Cru­ sade is to reverse the rising tide of violence and homicide among today ’ s youth. The strategy is to use our organizing and coalition building capabilities to generate new partner­ ships which serve as a "literal basket 2) Establish a diverse local steer­ ing committee to meet on a weekly basis for both strategic planning and community building. 4) Design local pilot initiatives in any or all of the five key areas and designate local organizations to ad­ minister them. Collaborate with and support existing programs that relate to the key components. The Reclaim O ur Youth pledge for excellence and against violence ask parents to com m it to five key things: (1) take your child to school; (2) meet your child’s teacher; (3) exchange phone numbers; (4) pickup report cards and monitor test scores; and (5) turn o ff the television for three hours of study time each night. T hese pledges serve as a c a ta ­ lyst for o rg a n iz in g p a re n ts and co m m u n ities aro u n d em bracing and p ro te c tin g our y outh. R e v e r­ end Jack so n view s the ep id em ic o f youth vio len ce as an o p p o rtu ­ nity for us as a co m m u n ity to stand up and to take back our rig h t to live free o f fear, o u r in­ a lie n a b le rig h t in the p u rsu it of h ap p in ess. In his w ords, “N o one w ill (o r can ) save us, for us, but u s.” R sihbû W C O A L IT IO N Reclaim Your Youth o f support" w ithin com m unities across the nation We are mobilizing leadership cadres during weekly prayer breakfast meetings. Repre­ sentatives from churches and the faith community are providing the foun­ dation for building Reclaim Our Youth Coalitions in several cities. These spiritual leaders are creating unprecedented partnerships with the courts and judicial community. The "black robe" team works along with educators, social workers, lawyers, elected officials, health profession­ als, parents, colleges and youth to achieve specific reclaim youth goals in five key areas: (1) Parent/School Bonding; (2) Adult/Youth Mentor- ing/Nurturing; (3) Youth Policy A d­ vocacy; (4) Youth/Student Em pow­ erment; and (5) Media Involvement and Accountability. We now seek to mobilize 100 churches within cities and com m uni­ ties across the country to increase the number of mentoring, nurturing and coaching relationships for our young people and their families. We know we can stop this epidemic of vio­ lence. We can reverse this tide Here are the basic steps to follow in your community. 1) Convene a town meeting/is- sues forum to address local concerns and explore the conditions, causes, costs and cures of violence. Involve a diverse team including teachers, students, judges, ministers, youth service workers, parents and human service workers. ¿Sivil î^ ig k ts 3F o u m a l To Be Or Not To Be: Haiti’s Search For Democracy B y B ernice P owell J ackson The story is still unfolding. The pictures are changing daily on our televisions and in our newspapers. As I write this we see American soldiers standing by and watching Haitian police beat civilians who are celebrating the presence of the Ameri­ cans and the promised arrival of Presi­ dent Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It’s not a pretty picture. Americans, who are supposed to be in Haiti to uphold democracy, are allowing people to be beat to death. W hat does it all mean? W hy is the deposed President of Haiti voic­ ing disapproval o f the last-second agreement negotiated by President Jimmy Carter, General Colin Powell and Senator Sam Nunn? Why is R andall R obin so n , P resid en t o f TransAfrica who carried out a hun­ ger strike earlier this year because of the adm inistration’s policy toward Haitian immigrants, also question­ ing the agreement? Those are only a few of the questions one might raise about the United States and Haiti. The first problem is that for the sake of a peaceful occupation by American troops the U.S. has chosen to negotiate with the very persons who have taken the government over by a bloody coup, have killed their own country people, have allowed Haitian military and police to rape and torture their opponentes and their families, have forced many of the democratically-elected members of Parliament to flee for their lives and have reneged on prior agreements to turn over their power. One must ask at what cost is this peaceful inva­ sion? Nobel Peace Prize winner Arch­ bishop Desmond Tutu once said, when reflecting on how the U.S. had sup­ ported the minority-white South Afri­ can government, that the U.S. has pen­ chant for choosing the wrong side. He was referring to the U.S. government’s Cold War habit of supporting despots. While there is some hope in that we seem to be supporting President Aristide, our negotiations with the Haitian military make it appear we haven’t learned our lesson yet. Just last week President Clinton c a lle d th e se sam e p e o p le “dictators...(who) control the most violent regime in our hemisphere.” These are the same people who this week we are to believe will act hon­ orably and will quietly turn over the reigns o f power. These are the same people whose armed thugs only weeks ago killed a Catholic priest and close friend o f President Aristide and who will receive amnesty under the agree­ ment. Somehow, even for those who believe in transform ation and in miracles, all that is hard to swallow. The second problem is that through this agreement we face the very real possibility o f the U.S. be­ coming an occupying army in Haiti. A few months ago I wrote a column against the possible invasion of Haiti and part o f that concern involved my fear that rather than being the libera­ tors o f the Haitian people, we would become their oppressors. If there are too many more times when U.S. sol­ diers stand powerless to help people being beaten by Haitian police, it w on' t take long for the people to hate the army which ostensibly came to free them. The third problem is the am­ nesty being promised to all in Haiti. The head of Amnesty International, the independent human rights orga­ nization, has criticized the agree­ ment, saying it allows killers to go free. Under this agreement, for ex­ ample, those who raped and tortured the wives o f political opponents to the military will go free. Finally, this agreement does not disarm the military leaders or their arm ed thugs. W hen the corrupt D uvalier governm ent finally was forced to leave pow er in Haiti the vicious underground security force was not disarmed and continued to torture and kill Haitian people. These same armed thugs caused U.S. naval ships sent to Haiti a few months ago to turn back at the docks. The reality is that this agreement may have saved the U .S. armed forces from invading Haiti, but it may not have saved the Haitian people. In the words o f one American soldier in Haiti, while he was watching the Haitian police chase and beat those people who had come to thank our soldiers for coming to their country, "These people have a right to be free, they chose to be free. It’s a shame, a shame.” Send your letters to the Editor to: Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 An Open Letter To Parents by R ichard W . R iley , U .S. S ecretary of E ducation Very few things are more important to our children’s future or to America’s future than the quality education of our children. We believe that the concerted efforts of entire communities to cre­ ate and sustain disciplined learning environments, where our children can be challenged to meet high academic and occupational skill standards, are what will provide our children - and America — with a strong future. All across America, there are communities which are pulling to­ gether to strengthen education. Par­ ents, teachers, community leaders, business leaders, and educators in every part of our country are starting to work together to improve teaching and learning and to improve student achievement. With passage last spring of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (by a strong bipartisan vote in Con­ gress), new opportunities have been created for schools and neighbor­ hoods, themselves, to accelerate lo­ cal and state improvement efforts. But these opportunities for educa­ tional excellence can only'be taken advantage of through greater family involvement in children’s education — both at school and at home. I believe that all parents, regard­ less o f income or occupation, have the capacity and the obligation to teach their children not only a love of learning, but also other critical Ameri­ can values such as responsibility, respect and hard work. Research shows that all families, whatevertheir income or education level, can take concrete steps that significantly help children learn. And yet families are often the missing link in American education. Many parent, education, com ­ munity and religious organizations are com ing together to prom ote greater family involvement in learn­ ing, and I, as the U.S. Secretary of Education, encourage such efforts right at home - in every neighbor­ hood and community. As we work to increase strong family-school part­ nerships, we all need to be mindful of the pressures parents face and the escalating demands on their time. But I believe we, as a nation, must recognize something else as well: parents, when they can, need to slow down their lives and help their chil­ dren grow. As I travel around the country, I meet many parents who are trying hard to do the right thing for their chi Idren . They are being responsible, juggling jobs, trying to squeeze more hours into the day. They are worry­ ing about their children's safety and doing all they can to keep their fami- lies together. Yet, some 40epercent of parents themselves believe they are not de­ voting enough time to theirchildren' s education. Almost three-quarters of students between the ages of 10 and 13 say they would like to talk to their parents more about schoolwork. A survey taken last year showed that teachers believe the most important issue in educational policy is strength­ ening the role of parents in children's schooling. And data compiled by the Na­ tional A ssessm ent o f Education Progress shows that three factors over which parents exercise authority — student absenteeism, variety of read­ ing materials in the home, and exces­ sive television watching - explain nearly 90 percent o f the variation in eighth grade mathematics test scores among 37 states and the District of Columbia. Successful family involvement is not a sporadic activity. It is a sustained commitment to instill the habits of learning and to se, high expectations. Parents are children's first and most influential teachers. By reading to children or having them read to us... by making sure homework is done... by monitoring television use., by knowing how children spend their time, parents can have a powerfully positive effect on their children’s learning. Parents can also help children by participating in local and state efforts to raise educational standards. And we can urge schools to offer and enroll many more students in the challenging courses which prepare them for postsecondary education and/or a promising occupation. At the same time, we know that the responsibility for expanding and deepening family involvement ex­ tends well beyond families. Schools, communities, and businesses can all be part of a network o f support for families and students. Schools can reach out to fami­ lies at convenient hours and promote family and community involvement in helping all students to teach high standards. Communities can help to make schools safe and drug-free, provide support services for parents, and encourage volunteers to serve as mentors. Businesses can adopt “fam­ ily-friendly” policies, such as child care or flexible leave, that would make it easier for parents to visit or volunteer in schools. We have joined with more than 45 different organizations, and to­ gether we are identifying successful approaches to strengthen family in­ volvement in learning. W orking to g e th e r, we can re ­ in fo rc e the c e n tra l role o f the fam ily in e d u c a tio n -- and bring out the best in ev ery ch ild . We need yo u r help. p e r s p e c tiv e s Immigration: Race, Money And Power (Conclusion) e fo re p ro ceed in g fu rth e r w ith this commentary I wish to advise those teachers who say they are incorporating material in this series into social science lesson plans-- that in addition to the citations I give here (most in my library), you will find trem endous re so u rc e s u n d er the “Im m igration” heading Of G ale 's E n c y c lo p ed ia of Association at the Public Library. A most in­ teresting volume from my ow n collection on the subject is “The Mismeasure O f M an ” by S te ­ phen Jay G ould. H is c o g e n t co m m en ts on the A m erican ra c ism w hich had a rg u ed for the e x c lu sio n o f so u th ern and e a ste rn E u ro p ean im m ig ra n ts w h o had sc o re d poorly on su p p o sed te sts o f in ­ nate in te llig e n c e , p ro v id e e x ­ c e lle n t p o in ts for an e x a m in a ­ tion o f U .S. p o lic y on im m ig ra ­ tion. T hese ran g e from e a rlie r “c ra n ia l s iz e s ” to th e ra c ia l strateg y o f “ b io lo g ic a l d e te r­ m in ism ” and the m isd e e d s o f Jensen and S h o c k le y (T he IQ c o m e d ia n s). My p o in t o f d e p a rtu re for the th in k in g u n d e rly in g th is series w as an o b se rv a tio n d e ­ rived from in sp e c tio n o f a num ­ b e r o f v ie w p o in ts m a d e by black s in the n a tio n a l A frican A m erican p ress. It w o u ld seem that w h e re a s h e re to fo re there has been a re tic e n c e (a t least p u b lic a lly ) to sp eak a la rm in g ly about the in c re a se d im m ig ra ­ tion o f o th e r e th n ic s, th ere is now a g ro w in g c o n c e rn about the ec o n o m ic im p act. In o th e r w o rd s, it is no lo n g e r c o n s id ­ ered ‘p o litic a lly in c o r r e c t’ by m any b la c k s to have second th o u g h ts a b o u t “ra in b o w c o a li­ tio n s” . T hey seem to be fo c u s­ ing a c ritic a l a n a ly sis on m o v e­ m ents w hich are say in g “ we are all in th is to g e th e r (w e o u tsid - e r s ) - - a n d w e s h o u ld not be fo u n d e x a m in in g our in tra c u ltu ra l r e la tio n s h ip s . Stand united a g a in st that W A SP w orld, you m in o ritie s and poor w h ite s” . In ste a d th e se b la c k s are p e rc e iv in g a real o r im ag in ed e sc a la tio n o f an u n e q u a l ‘d iv i- sio n -o f-sp o ils’ in the eth n ic pot. It w as Ben H alp ern (Jew s and B lacks) w ho w as q u o te d in the in tro d u c tio n o f “T he R ise O f T he U n m e lta b le E th n ic s ” by M ichael N ovak: “ N ot o n ly the g en eral p u blic but A m e ric a n S o c ia l S c ie n tis ts , w ho p rid e them selv es on fa c t-fin d in g and o b je c tiv ity , p re fe rre d to avoid th e s u g g e s tio n of ‘u n e q u a l’rig h ts in th e w ord ‘m in o rity ’” . T his w as back in 1973 and N ovak, o f c o u rse , w as not speaking o f a “ ra in b o w ” mix o f ethnics. His “ U n m e lta b le ” p ot, all sup p o sed ly in p u rsu it o f and clo sin g in on a “W A S P " ideal (W hite A nglo Saxon P ro te sta n t) w ere the P oles, I ta lia n s , G reek s, S lav s, Irish and Jew s. A t th is tim e and p la c e , N ovak refers to an o b s e r v e r “ outside the usual c o n flic ts b e ­ tw e e n W A S P S , e th n ic s an d b la c k s” . T he A frican A m erican, h im self, can n o t o f c o u rse a f­ ford the luxury and p o ssib le o b ­ je c tiv ity o f sta n d in g c le a r o f the rush o f evens th at are upon him . As the jo b m arket is shrink- w rapped by daily c o rp o ra te la y ­ o ffs and the clo sin g o f the sm all su p p o rtin g b u sin e sse s, black s fu rth e r p erceive that the e c o ­ nom ic avenues are fu rth e r c u r­ tailed by concen tratio n o f A sian e th n ic s in w hat w ere tra d itio n a l o p p o rtu n itie s for them ; sm all sto re s, dry c lean ers, ja n ito ria l se rv ic e s, c a r w ash es, b e a u ty su p p ly , etc. It seem s to me that w hat black s are saying in m any o f the a rtic le s I read is “ has our lea d e rsh ip failed us ag ain ? E a r­ lier, we had them p ro je c tin g all the em ploym ent gains we w ere to m ake through the im p le m e n ­ ta tio n of “ A ffirm ativ e A c tio n - only to find that 80% o f the jo b s and pro m o tio n s to be g e n ­ e ra te d w ere ab sorbed by w hite fe m a le s" (the m ost u b iq u ito u s “ e th n ic ” group e v e r c re a te d ). N ow , when you c o n sid e r th e se facts and then a tte m p t to a lig n the U .S. g o v e rn m e n t’s new “c ateg o ric o f racial and e th n ic d e sig n a tio n s to be used by every federal agency from C en su s B ureau, E qual E m p lo y ­ m ent, E qual C red it O p p o rtu ­ nity, etc. to Sm all B usiness p ro ­ gram s and B anking le g is la tio n ” w ith p rio r co n c e p ts o f c u ltu r ­ a lly -w e ig h te d re a litie s o f this land o f o u rs, you could be in b ig tro u b le. D oes the A frican American need to stand clear of all the see thing “melting pots” and review his options, his leaders, his organizations? Whats the future?